Poet and Scientist
- Attendees
- meter@bmerhbfc
- Colin Kemp 7K76 BNR
- Author
- Colin Kemp 7K76 BNR
- Summary
For your information:
---forwarded-message---->
Apr 16 10:31:00 1996
To: Terry (T.) Lavineway (BNR) Dept C925 CAR
Douglas (D.A.) Sander (BNR) Dept 4Y51 SKY
Cory (C.J.) Bialowas (BNR) Dept 7C13 SKY
Colin (C.M.) Puchala (BNR) Dept 6S23 SKY
Colin (C.W.) Kemp (BNR) Dept 7K76 SKY
Patricia (P.A.) Dy (BNR) Dept 7I61 SKY
Fred (F.J.) LaLonde (BNR) Dept 8M62 SKY
Alan (A.B.) Williams (BNR) Dept X753 SKY
'[email protected]' (BNR400)
'[email protected]' (BNR400)
From: Jane (J.) Dowsey (BNR) Dept 7I61 SKY
Subject: FW: Poet and Scientist (fwd)
cute one...
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Apr 15 13:00 1996
To: '[email protected]' (INTERNET)
Brian Johnson :7T11 (BNR) CAR BNR
Elizabeth Melo :7T13 (BNR) CAR BNR
Heather Mullen :7K61 (BNR) SKY BNR
'[email protected]' (INTERNET)
'[email protected]' (BNR400)
'[email protected]' (INTERNET)
Jane Dowsey :7I61 (BNR) SKY BNR
From: Haitham BouZeineddine :7C96 (BNR) SKY BNR
Subject: FW: Poet and Scientist (fwd)
Regards,
Haitham BouZeineddine
NORTEL Public Carrier Networks
Ottawa, Ontario
(613) 765-2311
[email protected]
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Subject: Poet and Scientist
Date: Thursday, April 04, 1996 8:41AM
There were once two people travelling on a train, a scientist and a
> poet, who were riding in the same compartment. They had never met
> before, so naturally, there wasn't much conversation between the two.
>
> The poet was minding his own business, looking out the window at the
> beauty of the passing terrain. The scientist was very uptight, trying
> to think of things he didn't know so he could try to figure them out.
>
> Finally, the scientist was so bored, that he said to the poet, "Hey, do
> you want to play a game?"
>
> The poet, being content with what he was doing, ignored him and
> continued looking out the window, humming quietly to himself. This
> infuriated the scientist, who irritably asked again, "Hey, you, do you
> want to play a game? I'll ask you a question, and if you get it wrong,
> you give me $5. Then, YOU ask ME a question, and if I can't answer it,
> I'll give YOU $5."
>
> The poet thought about this for a moment, but he decided against it,
> seeing that the scientist was obviously a very bright man. He politely
> turned down the scientist's offer.
>
> The scientist, who, by this time was going mad, tried a final time.
> "Look, I'll ask you a question, and if you can't answer it, you give me
> $5. Then you ask ME a question, and if I can't answer it, I'll give you
> $50!"
>
> Now, the poet was not that smart academically, but he wasn't totally
> stupid. He readily accepted the offer. "Okay," the scientist said,
> "what is the EXACT distance between the Earth and the Moon?"
>
> The poet, obviously not knowing the answer, didn't stop to think about
> the scientist's question. He took a $5 bill out of his pocket and
> handed it to the scientist. The scientist happily accepted the bill and
> promptly said, "Okay, now it's your turn."
>
> The poet thought about this for a few minutes, then asked, "All right,
> what goes up a mountain on three legs, but comes down on four?"
>
> The bright glow quickly vanished from the scientist's face. He thought
> about this for a long time, taking out his notepad and making numerous
> calculations. He finally gave up on his notepad and took out his
> laptop, using his Multimedia Encyclopedia.
>
> After about an hour of this, the poet quietly watching the mountains of
> Colorado go by the whole time, the scientist FINALLY gave up. He
> reluctantly handed the poet a $50 bill. The poet accepted it
> graciously, turning back to the window.
>
> "Wait!" the scientist shouted. "You can't do this to me! What's the
answer??"
>
The poet looked at the scientist and calmly put another $5 bill into his hand.